Automatic apparatus for opening and closing doors



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Patent mp5, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ANDREW MCWILLIAMS, OF IIAZZARD, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters' Patent No. 432,210,7dated July 15, 1890.

Application tiled February 1, 1890. Serial No. 338,912. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, ANDREW MCWILLTAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hazzard, in the county of Mercer and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Apparatus for Opening and Closing Doors in'Mines, &c. and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specication.

My invention relates'to an improved ventlatng-door for coal-mines; and itconsists in a device whereby a car moving along the track will automatically open and close the door, as will be fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan View of my improved device for opening and closing mine-doors. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the device for locking the door when open. Fig. 3 is an elevation of one of the counter-weights employed to keep the levers in the path of the moving car.

To put my invention into practice, I construct a door a and hinge the same to a suitable vertical post b in a manner that the same will open either way. At each side of this door a and a short distance away are pivoted two bent levers c, having one end of each projecting over the track cl and within reachl of a moving car c. These levers c are pivoted at their inner ends f, and are provided with a groove'or channel 0, (see Fig. 3,) running or extending from its pivotal point f around the curved portion of the levers c.

g g designate two cords or ropes, which are f secured at one end to the door a, and after passing around pulleys h and through the grooves o in the curved portion ot the levers c are secured at their other ends to the pivots f of said levers. To the levers c at a point intermediate of their length are connected weights 7l, which serve to keep said levers in the path of moving cars to automatically open the door a..

At one side ofthe track d, near the door a, is an upwardl y-proj ectin g pivoted bar k, which extends above and lies close to the rail d in a manner that the wheels of the moving truck the levers c and moves it in the direction in.

dicated by the arrow in Fig. l. This move- .ment of the lever c draws the cord g around the pulleys h, and thus opens the door a. The door a passes over thel bar k and is kept from returning'to its closed position by the stop Z. As the car passes through the open door its wheels cause the bar 7c to turn,` and this devpresses the 'stop l, so that the door, which is suitably hung for that purpose, may return to its closed position after the car has passed. The door is kept from coming iu Contact with the carwhile i-n its open position by the curved bar p, which bears against the side of the car as it passes.

That I-claim, and desire to secure by Let; ters Patent, is- VThe herein-described apparatus for opening and closing mine-Ventilating doors, cousisting ot the levers c, projecting within reach of the car and provided with a curved grooved portion and adapted to operate a rope or cord secured over suitable pulleys h and attachedv to the mine-door, suitable counter-weights i, and a device for locking and releasing the door after the car passes a given point, substantially as and 'for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoiugI hereunto affix my signature this 19th day of November, A. D. 1889.

M. E. HARRISON, H. H. SALLADE. 

